joy love essential oils

Month: March 2017

Back before I knew any better, I used to buy my household cleaners from Costco or the grocery store. I had no idea that my cleaners were negatively and significantly impacting our indoor air quality. It’s no wonder my toddler son had so many respiratory issues and was on breathing treatments before we gave toxic food and toxic cleaners the boot. This is a lot of peoples’ problem, but sadly most people aren’t aware that it’s an issue.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health studied nearly 3,000 ingredients in common household products and found that 884 for them are toxic and 314 cause biological mutations. 218 cause reproductive harm. 778 are toxic to the human body specifically, and 146 cause cancer tumors and are BANNED in most other countries but perfectly legal in the United States. THIS is why it is so SO important to do your own research and not just assume something is safe because it’s on a store shelf. These carcinogenic chemicals are very likely lurking in your cabinets, and their residues are entering your kids’ bodies when they walk barefoot across your floor or touch your windows or sit on your toilet. And they don’t need to be. There IS another way, and it’s super easy and affordable.

My family uses Young Living’s Thieves Household Cleaner. The smaller bottle of it is only $22 for wholesale members and it is highly concentrated, so it lasts a very long time. We typically get about 20 bottles of all-purpose cleaner out of it, which comes out to about $1 per bottle. I challenge you to find an organic cleaner that inexpensive at the health food store! You won’t!

Thieves Cleaner is plant-based and does not contain any of the synthetic, endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in your typical household cleaner. There is no bleach, not harsh detergents, no sodium lauryl sulphate, no dyes, no synthetic fragrances, just pure plant-based goodness and the yummiest smelling essential oil blend ever. It harnesses the power of cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon and other citrus oils. It smells like Christmas and it is so wonderful. My kids literally beg to help me clean the house and they take turns spraying it on to different surfaces and wiping away….and I am totally confident that they are not being poisoned in the process.

We use it in the following ways:

All-purpose cleaner: 1 cap of cleaner to 1 quart of distilled water in a spray bottle

Laundry: add 1-2 caps cleaner to each load. (We do this if we run out of Thieves Laundry Soap)

Walls: 1 cap cleaner to 2 cups distilled water

Dishwasher: 1 cap in dishwasher detergent compartment

Can you see how this stuff is such a great value? It literally replaces every cleaner I used to buy, and it’s safe to use around little kids and pets AND it smells amazing. It’s a win win win win! Are you already using Thieves cleaner? What are some of your favorite uses for it? If you aren’t already a member, click here to become one and then grab a bottle of Thieves cleaner at the wholesale price of $22. Questions? Shoot me an email at crystal@thejoyfuloilers.com or connect with me on Facebook. Bye for now!

Hello, friends! March is already ending in just a few days, which is just CRAZY to me.

I just wanted to pop in and share the March promos with you because you still have a few days to snag some great oils for FREE. In case you’re new around here, Young Living does promos every month where they reward you with FREE oils and products when you spend certain PV (point value) amounts. PV is typically dollar for dollar, so $1=1 PV. It’s a great way to grow your collection without breaking the bank. 🙂

This month, when you hit 300 PV ***in a single order*** you get $184.22 of free product, including a 15 ml bottle of FRANKINCENSE (whaaaat?!), a 15 ml bottle of lavender, a 5 ml of blue cypress, Thieves fruit & veggie spray and (if this is done on an ER order) you also get a 5 ml bottle of lime Vitality. Lime Vitality is exactly the same as lime essential oil. It’s just got a white label on it to let you know you can use it as a dietary supplement.

Here is what you get for free at the different tiers:

100PV on ER retail value $7.57

5mL Lime Vitality (ER Bonus)
This oil is great in water or NingXia Red, and it’s REALLY awesome in guacamole! It’s also great for skincare and supports the respiratory and immune systems.

190PV retail value $56.59

Thieves Fruit & Veggie Spray
This convenient spray harnesses the power of Thieves and lime essential oils to get your fruits and veggies squeaky clean.

5mL Blue Cypress (ER Bonus)
Blue Cypress is a great woodsy oil that is soothing to the skin. It works on the emotions by restoring balance. It is grounding and helps instill a feeling confidence. It’s also great for respiratory support and is an excellent support to the circulatory system.

250PV retail value $87.51

190PV promos, plus…15mL Lavender
The swiss army knife of essential oils. My family orders this one every single month, so getting one for free this month is pretty awesome! We love it for supporting healthy skin and restful sleep. My kids ask for it in their diffusers every night before bed.300PV retail value $184.22

250PV promos, plus…15mL Frankincense
The big bottle of Frankincense costs nearly $100 so this is an ah-MAZING deal! If it was good enough for baby Jesus, it’s good enough for us! Did you know that Young Living is the first and ONLY company in the world to obtain permission to export this revered oil to the Western world? There’s no other like it! I use it to smooth out the look of my previously sun-damaged skin and for grounding during meditation.

So there you have it! March’s promos are pretty amazing. If you’re new around here and you don’t have your Premium Starter Kit and membership yet, no worries! You can grab yours now by using this link. You can totally participate in the March promo by adding another 200 PV (points value, $1=1 PV in most cases) to your shopping cart before you hit “activate and check out.” Your kit comes with 5 ml bottles of lavender and frankincense (plus 10 other great oils and a diffuser) but you will probably run out of those two staple oils soon and the 15 ml bottles for FREE will totally come in handy! Questions? Connect with me personally on Facebook by sending me a friend request, “like” our Joyful Oilers Facebook page to be alerted when new blogs are up or shoot me an email at crystal@thejoyfuloilers.com. I hope to connect with you soon! Bye for now!

Aaaah, spring time is upon us at long last! The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, the flowers are in full bloom, and there is pollen on the breeze. Spring is in the air, if you catch my drift. If you are a person who tends to get itchy and sneezy being outside during the spring season, this essential oil trio is for you. I never experienced this reaction to the outdoors until after I was pregnant with my daughter, but now I am very much susceptible but I am so glad I was introduced to this dynamic trio.

When you want to stay your happy, breathing easy self no matter what is out there in the air, these three oils can offer you the support you need. Just add 5 drops of lavender, 4 drops of lemon and 3 drops of peppermint essential oils to your cold water diffuser. By the way, all three of these oils and a cold water diffuser come in the Premium Starter Kit, so if you haven’t already you can grab yours here by clicking on this link. Be sure to click “wholesale membership” as it’s the only way to get a kit and 24% off your oils. 🙂

Diffusing this trio is great when you’re at home or at the office, but if you’re on the run, you can take Lavender Vitality, Lemon Vitality and Peppermint Vitality essential oils in an empty veggie capsule topped with avocado oil or an edible carrier oil of your choosing. (Note: Young Living’s Vitality oils are the only essential oils which have been specifically labeled for ingestion as a dietary supplement and approved by the FDA, so please do NOT try this with other essential oil brands, even those labeled as organic. You can read more about why that is here.) I personally love the convenience of squirting Young Living’s V-6 oil from the pump bottle or filling a glass eye dropper bottle with my favorite local organic avocado oil. Either one will do! If your reaction to being outdoors is very severe, you can also add Copaiba Vitality to the mix, which by the way is also included in your Premium Starter Kit.

Some people like to apply these oils to the bridge of the nose topically, but I do not recommend doing that as lemon essential oil is photosensitive, meaning it can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight. If you want to take these oils on the go but are not comfortable ingesting them, you can pre-mix this trio in one of your mini glass drams (from your Premium Starter Kit) and carry it in your purse. Then when you need support, simply drip a drop of your pre-mixed blend into the palm of your non-dominant hand, rotate your hands together a few times clockwise and then inhale deeply from your hands with a few deep breaths. You can do this as needed.

I hope you enjoy some time in the sunshine this spring season! Let me know if you’ve tried this trio and what you think! It smells wonderfully together, and I think you’ll love it if you haven’t tried it already. Thanks for reading, friend! Bye for now…

Every single day all around the world—and especially here in the United States—people are inadvertently poisoning themselves while engaging in seemingly harmless tasks such as washing their dishes. Before embarking on our journey to cleaner living, my own family bought the giant sized Dawn dish soap from Costco. It was relatively cheap and familiar, so we bought it. We simply didn’t know any better, and we never gave a second thought to it not being healthy for us because why would it be on the shelf if it was so dangerous? However, after we switched to organic food and started researching related topics, our eyes were opened to the fact that many of our everyday products are chock full of harmful chemicals, and in our country it’s perfectly legal.

According to the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning, Dawn dish soap gets a big fat D. It contains ingredients known to cause respiratory issues and asthma, skin allergies and irritation, harm to the environment, and—worst of all—cancer. You will notice that if you flip your bottle of Dawn dish soap over, you will not see a list of ingredients, because they don’t want you to know what they’re hiding in there, but by looking at it you can see that it has bright blue dye in it, and you can probably smell that is contains fragrance. If you want the full list of ingredients you have to visit their web site and really dig around.

Most dish soaps on the market are made up of surfactants, preservatives, fragrance, color and other active and nonactive ingredients. Here is a basic list of common dish soap ingredients that should be absolutely avoided:

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): This is an emulsifier and foaming agent, and the ingredient that makes your soap have bubbles. SLS, a surfactant, is linked to Nitrosamines, a potent carcinogen that causes your body to absorb nitrates, another known carcinogen. Over 40,000 studies in the PubMed science library include information on the toxicity of this chemical.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): According to Mercola.com, SLES, another surfactant, is often contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, a byproduct of the manufacturing process that is “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” It may also cause negative effects in the kidneys, liver and central nervous system according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Methylisothiazolinone: According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Skin Deep site, this widely used preservative is associated with allergic reactions. Additionally, lab studies on brain cells of mammals suggest that it may also be neurotoxic (poison to your brain.) Methylisothiazolinone can also be very irritating to the skin, and it goes through your skin into the blood stream and into your brain while you scrub away at your dishes.

Fragrance: Artificial “fragrance” can contain hundreds, even thousands of different chemicals, including phthalates, manmade chemicals that can negatively affect estrogen and testosterone levels in humans. According to the EWG’s Skin Deep app: The word “fragrance” or “parfum” on the product label represents an undisclosed mixture of various scent chemicals and ingredients used as fragrance dispersants such as diethyl phthalate. Fragrance mixes have been associated with allergies, dermatitis, respiratory distress and potential effects on the reproductive system.

Triclosan: This was first developed and registered as a pesticide in 1969 to kill microorganisms, but since then many studies have shown it to be a potent endocrine disruptor (harming endocrine system/thyroid function) and harmful to the reproductive system. It has also been linked to cancer, asthma, allergies in children and eczema. Unfortunately, it accumulates in your fat for long periods of time and can be found in most peoples’ blood, urine and breast milk samples. Additionally, it lingers for 12 hours after use, so even after you’ve washed your dishes and rinsed them well, this poison remains and you are likely ingesting it, as your kids. When it enters your system, it can cause bacterial resistance, much like what happens when you over-use anti-biotics.

Chances are you are currently using a dish soap that contains one or all of the above ingredients, and every time you go to wash your dished your are saturating your hands in these chemicals and they are going into your body. And even though you’ve rinsed thoroughly—more than once—you are still ingesting trace amounts of these chemicals and your are breathing them in. By the way, even many of the supposed “natural” brands at the health food store contain many of the above ingredients, or slightly altered versions of them with slightly different names but the exact same effects.

I personally am not ok with poisoning myself and my family for the sake of clean dishes. When we first went on our journey to rid our home of toxic chemicals, I was making my own dish soap, and it was ok but not very convenient. Fortunately for me, I found Thieves dish soap and that’s what we use now. It takes getting used to at first because it does not bubble up—but remember, this is a good thing as the chemicals that cause dish soap to foam up are very, very bad for your health. Our dishes are still getting clean and a little Thieves dish soap goes a long way because it’s super concentrated.

Thieves dish soap gets my family’s dishes squeaky clean without the use of chemicals, dyes or synthetics of any kind. It uses the power of seven different essential oils (bergamot, jade lemon, clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary) from the best essential oils company on Earth, Young Living. Young Living essential oils is a referral based company, meaning you can’t just go buy it in the stores; you must become a member or customer by being introduced by a current Young Living member. You do this by visiting YoungLiving.com and inputting the member number of the person who introduced you as your enroller and sponsor. If you don’t have a person, I’d love to welcome you to our Joyful Oiler family! My member number is 3471989. If you have any questions regarding Young Living, or Thieves dish soap or anything else, feel free to shoot me an email at crystal@thejoyfuloilers.com. Otherwise, have fun exploring the blog. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you throw out that toxic dish soap and replace it with Thieves dish soap now. Bye for now…